title: Slings in the management of male stress urinary incontinence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The use of synthetic slings for the treatment of male stress urinary incontinence (SUI) has increased over the last decade. Several sling designs and techniques are now available. The purpose of this review is to summarize the past literature with a focus on more recent contributions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The recent literature focusses on the retrourethral transobturator sling (RTS), which is considered noncompressive. MRI of patients undergoing RTS has shown an increase in membranous urethral length and elevation of the external urethral sphincter, whereas a recent large series demonstrated approximately a half and a quarter of patients are cured or improved, respectively, at 1 year after RTS implantation, with results sustained through to 3 years. Serious complications such as urethral erosion occur rarely.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The available evidence suggests that male slings can be an efficacious and well tolerated treatment modality for men with SUI. Nevertheless, important questions remain with regard to the durability of repair, device safety and comparative efficacy. The mechanism of action and factors that predict failure remain to be fully elucidated.
authors.affiliation: Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Nadir I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Osman
mesh_terms: D019468:Disease Management; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D052801:Male Urogenital Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D012307:Risk Factors; D053825:Suburethral Slings / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000601:surgery*